This post will save you tons of time and money.  Church plants spend too much money on office space, email systems, and phone systems.  Here are our tips to saving tons or money and hassle!

1. Office from home

I know you might have kids/family but you don’t need an office starting out.  I know how to do this, I work from home a lot and have a SMALL office here.  I put in my head phones and work!  This will save you a lot of money.

2. Build team at Starbucks

Use Starbucks as your team meeting space.  They have free Wi-Fi and have created a fantastic environment that you can rent for the price of a coffee

3. Use Google Apps For Domains for your email system, document storage/sharing, and internal calendaring system.

Let Google engineers be on your team, not some volunteer in your church . This email system will connect with your domain name and it is amazing.

They are inexpensive and very good!

4. Use Grasshopper phone system

This system will hook everyone together virtually and give you voicemail and even pretty music will people are on hold for 49.95.  You also get the “fax to email” service.

What am I missing guys?  Help me out!

On October 20, church leaders from around the country can appear on your computer screen to teach you and your team how to fully fund your church. The free online event is called Fund Your Church Now.  Take a look at what some of the speakers will share:

• Dino Rizzo from Healing Place Church will talk about how helping people in the community creates a generous church.
• Robert Morris is going to explain the Biblical command to give a tithe and offerings.
• Joe Sangl is going to show you how you can help broke people in your church with their personal finances.
• Shaun King is going to show you how to mobilize a bunch of people to connect with a need.
• Pete Wilson is going to talk about the power of personal relationships.
• Bob Franquiz will show you how to do a tithe challenge.
• Tim Stevens is going to talk about how the Granger team tracks and measures generosity.

There are more speakers and more topics.  Fund Your Church Now is a FREE online event.  Register here.

Carey is from Canada and is quite possibly one of my favorite people!  The point of this post is to connect you to Carey and his leadership.  Let me tell you why you should connect with him.

1. He is one of the best & most normal pastors I know

Carey pastors Connexus Community Church in Barrie, Ontario.  Barrie is one of the COLDEST places I have ever been as far as the weather and spiritual climate.  He has led their church to reach nearly 1,000 people on the weekend.  In case you don’t know, that is a miracle!  Even though he has been a major success at reaching people for Jesus, he has remained one of the most humble pastors I know.  The thing I like the best about Carey is how normal of a person he is.  You just want to be around him and do life with him!

2. He is a great dad

If I have a parenting question, I’m texting Carey.  If I wonder if I am doing stuff right or wrong with my family, I’m reading Carey’s book Parenting Beyond Your Capacity.  I have met one of Carey’s sons and he is the real deal.  You should really follow him for just this reason alone.

3. He is a great husband

He speaks of his wife so well and is still in love with her.  He consistently talks about her and their trips together.  He is one of the few pastors that speaks with me about his wife consistently.  He definitely is married to her more than his church.

4. He likes to ride bikes

This is random but it says a lot about him that he likes to have fun.  I went to spend some time consulting with their church and we squeezed in a ride.  He is a dream client because he cares about the relationship over the content.  Carey isn’t a client anymore, he is a friend.

5. He will make anything he is around better

He has given me great feedback on Giving Rocket and helped us get better.  He has also given me personal coaching that has helped me a lot. I totally am better because I’ve been close to Carey.  He adds value well.

He didn’t ask me to write this and probably wouldn’t have let me write it… Please follow him on twitter @cnieuwhof and tell him “Casey told me to follow you”!

Also, I would hire him to come into your church and do some speaking or consulting for your family ministry.  It’s worth every penny to bring him in! Let me know if you are interested in the comments and I’ll connect you!

If you go to the gym everyday, $30 is a small price to pay for health.  If you never go to the gym, you’re basically wasting $30 a month.  Wishful thinking doesn’t actually help.

In other words, the value of something is directly related to how much you use it.

The people who are actually using the Giving Rocket membership system are reporting increased giving, far more than the cost of membership.  The people who do not use any of the resources we send end up canceling.

Pastors who sign up, but never implement anything are like the people who join a gym but never go there.  I believe what we offer is incredible value, but I can’t reach through the computer screen and do it for you.  We’re coaching you…we are equipping you…we are showing you exactly what to do, but we can’t do it for you.

The good news is that you don’t have to implement everything.  After all, when you go to the gym you don’t need to use every machine and take every class.  Instead, you start with something small.  When you go to Disney World, you may not ride every ride, but you still have a good time.

1.  If you’re a senior pastor and you’re the one overseeing the finances, carve out one hour a week to implement some of the stuff.  You might have to suck it up a little bit, but it’s worth it.  Start with the giving talks, and once you’re intentional in that area, move on to the first time giver system.  A baby step you actually take is far greater than the 10-step process that sits there.

2.  If you’re overwhelmed with things to do, consider getting a volunteer generosity coordinator.  Chances are, there’s an organized person in your church who can follow the clear directions we send.  Call in some reinforcements and empower someone to implement this stuff.

The bottom line is that YOU CAN DO THIS.  It WILL make a difference in your church. Register for a 30-day, $1.00 trial Giving Rocket membership here.  You will have access to all membership benefits and can get started implementing giving talks this weekend to increase giving. Click here now.

Run a report of everyone who has given at least $1 to your church and compare that to the number of people who have given at least $1 in the past 30 days and you’ll quickly see that there are a lot of people who USED to give, but no longer do so.  In other words, some people simply stop giving.  Here are three reasons I think this happens.

1. They leave the church.  It shouldn’t surprise you to know that when people leave the church, they stop giving.  Healthy giving doesn’t occur in a vacuum – it’s connected to all the ministries in your church.  If you’ve got ministry problems, they will eventually become financial problems.

2.  Their financial situation is altered.  This is a big opportunity for the church to step in and minister, and it’s a huge reason why relationships are important.  Maybe they lost their job or were asked to take a pay cut.  Maybe they are going through a divorce.  Maybe there’s a medical issue.  If someone stops giving, the last thing they need is a guilty reminder letter and an envelope from the church office.  What they DO need is a phone call from someone checking in on them.

3. They are never thanked.  These people may never say anything to you or about you…they simply stop contributing.  Thanking people is ridiculously important.  You should send personal, hand-written thank you notes to every first time giver.  You should have a system to regularly appreciate regular givers.  Don’t ask people to continually fund the vision without taking time to genuinely thank them!

Why do you think people stop giving?

Have you registered for our free online event – FUNDYOURCHURCHNOW.COM?  Click here now to register!

The two minutes of explanation just before you receive the offering your church service are VERY IMPORTANT.  This isn’t the time for the worship leader to ramble something about worship being more than singing…it’s an opportunity for you to connect the dots and call people to action.  Instead of rushing through this moment, SLOW DOWN and explain what’s happening.

The image below is from Revolution Church and Pastor Zak White.  It’s what they put on the screen every time they do a giving talk.  Every week, they let people know that there are three ways they can participate in the offering.

What do you put on your screens?  Have you thought through what you’re going to say?  If you need help, download The Giving Talk Free report.

Giving Rocket members receive a weekly Giving Talk script that helps them make the most of those two minutes before taking the offering.  You can get a 30-day trial for just $1.00 and receive a Giving Talk script too.  Go here now to get started.

After working with hundreds of churches, I have one question…

Why do charismatic churches seemingly out give every other type of church?

I am sharing 100% my experience in working with churches and out of sheer curiosity, I would like to know your opinion on this?  Why do you believe this has been my experience? What can we learn from charismatic movements and apply across the board?  I just want your experience or opinions on this subject!

Comment below.

I have waited to write this post but can’t hold it back any longer.  After working with tons and tons of pastors I am seeing a pattern.  Here is the shocking news: PASTORS ARE REAL PEOPLE!

Pastors have deep hurts, bad habits, and life hangups just like everyone else.

I think everyone, in theory, would agree with that, but when that hurt, habit or hangup becomes known churches have no idea how to deal with it.  What makes it worse is when a pastor deals with issues they are scared they are going to lose their job the entire time so it makes them keep everything super quiet.

Before going any further, I’m not scared not ashamed to say I’m recovering from a past sexual addiction.  I think because of my back ground with a real addiction I can sense when things aren’t right with people.  I know the symptoms because I have lived them.  The only way healing has even started in my life was admitting my sin, going to counseling and being in real relationships with people.  I will always be recovering and I try to live broken before my wife, family and the cross!

In the past year I have heard statements like this from some pastors:

“I drink too much because I need to numb the stress.  this is creating a massive void in my relationship with my wife.”

“I have been FaceBook chatting with a lady in my church and I’m very close to going to meet her.”

“My wife hasn’t attended church with me regularly in the last 5 years.”

“I don’t have any real friends.”

“I’m looking at porn and so ashamed but don’t know how to stop.”

“The last pastor I worked for really hurt me and I’m just angry.”

“I’ve messed up really bad, can you call me.”

And the list goes on and on.  I’ve really heard those things…I’m not making up a list to sound dramatic.  Churches don’t know how to deal with this stuff.  I want you to hear me loud and clear as well, I don’t believe pastors or people in general should struggle or do anything like I just listed above but in reality it IS happening.  I honestly don’t have all the answers for all of this but I just want to let pastors know that if you are struggling, lonely, burnt out, addicted, tired, or scared people will find out, etc…. Just know you aren’t alone.

I would also say, you will NEVER be healed by just praying about it.  Again, I have experienced this first hand.  You need to have real conversations with people and I KNOW that you are scared to talk to anyone locally because you think you will lose your job, reputation, and influence.  The reality is, you will lose it sooner or later so you might as well talk with someone now.  I’m not good at counseling but I believe God has called me to be a friend.

If you ever need someone to talk with, let me know and we will figure out what is next.  Just know this…. No matter how messy your life is, you are welcome here.  Our entire team is full of people that want to help – you are human being.  Nothing you can admit can scare me or our team! Find freedom soon.  We will run TO you and not away from you.  We will love you but not allow you to stay where you are.

You have a friend here: casey@givingrocket.com.  You can email me confidentially and I’m not in charge of firing you!

I love you and you are welcome here.

The word sexy isn’t used in the context of church finances very often…but it should be.

People in general do not like spreadsheets and numbers.  If you want to shut the brain down of most of your church try to explain your church budget to them in a spreadsheet.

People don’t like spreadsheets, but they love stories.

Stories are why movie theaters are still packed.  Stories are why people cry that usually don’t.  Stories are loved at every age.  Stories communicate better than stats.

We teach churches to make their budget sexy.  A definition of the word sexy is “highly appealing”.  I want to teach you very simply how you can do this.

Take a look at Long Hollow’s budget.  (Click the link below to download the PDF.)

http://www.longhollow.com/files/compelled_ministry_plan.pdf

They have figured out the art of making a budget sexy.  They have created something that you want to read and want to understand.  The average person can understand this! (Special thanks to Long Hollow for allowing us to share this great example with you. Their creation of the Compelled Ministry Plan was not as a result of any partnership with Giving Rocket.)

I want to challenge you this year to make your budget sexy and watch your staff and church take more ownership of it!

One of the biggest mistakes pastors make when talking about money is assuming that everyone in their congregation is motivated in the same way.

You may share all kinds of Bible verses about giving and generosity, but you fail to realize that many people may not even care what the Bible says. Or you may share emotional stories because someone at a conference once showed you that stories connect. But those stories don’t connect at all with the analytical, factual people sitting in the chairs.

People aren’t motivated by the same thing…they are motivated by different things. We’ve identified FIVE primary reasons people give:

1. They see a need. I know you’ve heard that people don’t give to needs, they give to vision. But that’s just not true. A lot of people are motivated to give because a need was clearly presented. This is why people across America step up after a natural disaster.
2. They believe in the vision. People do want to be a part of something bigger than themselves, and vision does inspire people to give. Stories of life change and connecting the dots between giving and ministry really do help.
3. They have a relationship. Whether it’s the pastor, a small group leader, a volunteer team captain or a friend, relationships will help people “buy into the church.”
4. They are taught how to do it. I’m sure you think everyone knows how to give to your church, but that’s because you’re a leader in the church. You’ve got to educate people and show them exactly how to give. Ever wonder why informercials spend so much time showing the product in action….it’s so people will know how to use it.
5. They want to obey God’s Word. Sharing stats and telling stores are great, but don’t forget the Scripture. Jesus had a lot to say on the subject of money. Help people understand what Jesus, Paul and Proverbs say about money.

Fund Your Church Now, a FREE online event on October 20 will help your church move from break even to break through and is built around these five reasons. Some of the top leaders in North America will show you exactly what they have done to encourage generosity in people. Register for the free event here.